Throughout World War I and World War II there were conflicting powers between Europe, Russia, Japan, and America."None of the colonial powers, however, possessed the resources to withstand the strains of both world wars and maintain their direct rule in Asia. Although nationalist movements throughout the colonial world led to the political independence of nearly all of the Asia's remaining colonies, decolonization was intercepted by the Cold War; and Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Asia remained embedded in a world economic, financial, and military system in which the great powers compete to extend their influence." Because of the economic development and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the influence of Europe and North America upon Asia has lessened.This is causing the possibility of China and Japan merging today.
